Day 1 of biking PA to NC

North East, MD to Linthicum, MD - 68 miles - 3,967 ft of elevation gain

Because of rain from hurricane Ophelia, I canceled my ride two Saturdays ago from Philly to North East. I wanted to ride through Baltimore on a Sunday, so I kept that route for today and rescheduled the first leg of the trip (Philly to North East) for Saturday, October 7. The important part is I got a ride completed along the route, and it was a gorgeous day to be outside, especially on a bicycle.

My route began at my sister’s house in North East, MD. Her 8 kiddos were filled with questions about the route, my bike, and my attire. The 2 yr old was even (lightly) kicking my tires before I pulled out (I guess it was her way of doing a safety check). I was on back roads for the first few miles, which was glorious. Then I popped out on route 40 to cross the Susquehanna River, another reason for a Sunday morning departure - less traffic on the bridge. I hurrried across and then made a turn for a nice hill climb.

My bike computer registered 12 climbs on the climb-o-meter (what I’ve dubbed the feature). All of the hills were in the first 49 miles. For the first 20-ish miles I was following the East Coast Greenway through country roads, neighborhoods, and well-traveled roads with large shoulders. I saw 4 parachutes floating in the sky around mile 17. Then my route veered off the ECG to find a bike trail. The name of the road I was to turn on was Ma & Pa Road, I later learned it was the Maryland & Pennsylvania Railroad line, not named for the local parental figures.

The bike trail was pretty, however, it was not entirely paved. Some sections were probably paved in the 1970s, and some sections were solely gravel. The path was popular with dog walkers, and not so much for the road cyclist. At least it was shaded and not a long section. I popped out of the trees to find the largest Italian festival in Maryland in progress, too bad I didn’t have time to sample the food, but I did enjoy the music while I was within ear shot.

My sister, and her sister-in-law, were my support vehicle attendants for the day. So my first stop with them was at mile 47.5 at a Royal Farms convenience store just before 2pm. I was feeling the need for a break, food, water (I was out), and a pit stop, so this was the perfect location.

I left them and climbed my last registered hill for the day. At the top my computer told me to turn right and then next thing I knew, I lost the trail. Turns out the route wanted me to cut through Stanley Black & Decker headquarters’ parking lot, which was locked up. My cousin is an engineer for them, so I grabbed a pic and sent it to him for proof. After the re-route, I biked through the cutest neighborhoods around Towson. So many old homes with lots of charm.

I was making good time weaving through the streets and feeling good about the route. I entered downtown Baltimore, and jumped on a dedicated bike lane for a straight shot through town. I went past Camden Yards and around the backside of M&T Bank Stadium. All was going well!

For the last 7 miles I was to follow part of a bike path for a portion and then onto a road to the hotel parking lot where my sister was waiting, Here’s where the directions got a little squirrelly, and the computer was telling me to turn places that didn’t translate to what I was seeing. After some study and google consultations, I managed to get myself to the finish line. A road closure also didn’t help matters. If I had to go again, I’d find a different route and avoid the supposed bike path route for that area, but I have no need to bike there again. Not all bike paths are created equal.

It was a sunny, not too hot day, which was made for biking. I’m also now 68 miles closer to finishing my goal! And at last reporting, LIfecycles has $1,375 more towards future Challenge Ride trips from people supporting my little ride. Thank you all for making it possible for more teens to experience riding bicycles far.

Sight tally:
5 - snakes of various levels of flatness on the road
4 - parachuters
3 - bridges
2 - stadiums
1 - donkey

When I got home and looked at my phone, this was the verse for the day: